Delta Guardian

by The Emerald Nightingale

Rating: mature
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Anthro, Romance, Adventure, Crossover
Length: 9233

Brother missing. Thrown in an asylum. This is the life of Zoey up until that fateful day...

My life went to Hell after Ace disappeared.
I had slowly spiralled into a state of "mental breakdown", or at least that's what the doctor's say. I mean yeah, I had a few crazy moments, but who doesn't have a birthday party with inanimate objects every once in a while?
Anyway, I thought things were looking up when Patty and I… hehe… but no. Turns out Patty has some crazy powers or something that sent me to another universe! And it's full of anthropomorphic ponies!

Well… at least they're hot…

Part of the Displaced multiverse!

If you want to have an input on the story, please visit this blog,

Hey guys, I'm sorry about this but I've hit a block in my writing. As such, I'm going to take heed of some advice an old teacher of mine gave me and let this story sit for a while, come back to it later.

Alternatively, if you're desperate to get me back on track, feel free to offer any assistance via PM. I'll answer when I've got the time and let you in to the chapter I'm stuck on.

However, you can expect a big tide of chapters to come through when I'm out of this funk. For any fellow fans of Steven Universe, think of this like the build-up to a Steven Bomb.

I may release another story as an attempt to re-kindle my creativity, but it won't be my main focus.

Thanks for your understanding.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-04 22:27:00 UTC

Stable-izing

Chapter 1

When I came to, I was lying on a patch of grass in the middle of the night in what looked like a statue garden. All around me were statues of people who's heads were half-horse, each one doing something different. One was holding a flag up, another had a spear raised in victory, and a third was... a pair of them fucking.

That's graphic for a statue.

I ignored the statues for now and started walking around, trying to figure out where I was. It clearly wasn't the asylum, they would've never allowed some of these statues, so where was I? The last thing I remember is getting eaten by a dragon, so unless it ate this place as an appetiser I'm pretty sure I'm not where logic would put me. I still seem to be wearing the Zinnia costume, though.

"You there, halt!"

I whipped around to face the voice, seeing one of those half-horse-faced people. Only this one was also covered in dark blue fur and had wings and a horn. Her hair - or is it mane? - was more of a gas, and seemed to hold the night sky inside of it. She wore a silver and light blue gown that flowed over her generous bosom, and a black crown that had a crescent moon on it that rested just behind her horn. She must have been royalty! Crap, bow you stupid bitch!

I dropped to one knee as the woman - mare? - glided over to me, seeming to inspect me as she neared. I caught her turquoise eyes as they roamed my form, seeming to linger in one or two places.

"Rise, fair maiden. What is thy name?" the mare - yes, fuck it, I'm going with mare! - asked. She held out her hand, which I gladly took as she pulled me to my feet with surprising strength.

"I'm Zinnia." I found myself saying without much thought. Why did I introduce myself as Zinnia, and not myself? Well, there's an easy way to fix this. "My friends call me Zoey."

"Greetings, Zinnia. As I am sure you know, I am Princess Luna, ruler of the night." She looked hopefully at me, as though hoping that I had indeed heard of her.

"I'm sorry, your highness," I began, thinking of how to put it lightly. "But I'm... not from the area, so I haven't heard of you before."

"Oh..."

Great. Now I feel bad.

"No matter. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Canterlot, as well as the rest of Equestria"

"Equestria?"

"Our country, Canterlot being the capitol. But enough of that. Please, walk with me."

I indulged the Princess, walking alongside her through the statues.

"So, Zinnia." the Princess began, facing forward. "If you do not hail from Equestria, then where is it you call home? How close is this land?"

"I'm..." I paused, looking at my boots. "I'm not exactly sure, Princess. I don't even remember how I got here. The last thing I do remember is being swallowed whole by a dragon."

"What?!" Luna's head whipped around so fast her mane flew right by my nose.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true!" I insisted. I really didn't want to go to another crazy house.

"...We do not doubt you, Zinnia."

"Really?"

"No. 'Tis not the first story of dragons taking ponies just to place them in another location."

"Oh, thank God!"

"So would you be so kind as to fill Us in on your origins?"

"Uh... well..."

And so I told the Princess everything. How close I was to my brother, what happened to him, how that affected me, what happened to me, and everything that happened in the asylum up until today. When I had finished, I noticed that we had made our way to the doors leading into a large castle. From our current point I could just see over the walls, a thick canopy of trees greeting me.

"Come, Zinnia. I would have us continue this discussion inside over tea." Luna said, gesturing with her hand as her horn gained a blue glow. The door handles were surrounded by the same glow, and then the doors opened themselves. I shrugged it off. Horse people are weird enough that the fact they have magic just doesn't affect me right now.

"Of course, Princess. Please, lead the way." I replied, bowing slightly. Luna giggled a little, a magical sound that made me smile. She then led me into a large dining room, with four long tables lined vertically from the door, a fifth running horizontally along the far wall. Luna led us to the far table, taking a seat in a black and blue throne that held the same crescent moon as her crown.

"Please, seat yourself wherever you please. I shall have the night staff prepare us some tea." She said as she brought out a small bell and rang it. Almost immediately, a teapot with two tea cups and a plate of biscuits were placed upon the table by a horse man with a white coat and mane with bright red eyes. I thanked the... stallion? Yes, stallion. Grabbing the teapot, I poured myself and the Princess a drink. "Thank you." she said, taking hers.

"From what you have told Us, Zinnia," the mare began, taking a sip of her tea. I did the same, finding myself pleasantly surprised by the flavour. "We believe that you may have encountered a being of the Void."

I paused mid-sip. "A what?" I asked, placing the cup back on the tray.

"A being of the Void." Luna repeated. "Creatures with no physical form of their own, they are speculated to have a constant vision of the past, present and future at the same time. Some like to... nudge things in a different direction, often by moving a being."

"And of course by 'moving', you mean through dimensions."

"Indeed. The few times we have managed to prevent this, we witnessed the true form of these creatures - a ball of swirling energy. They seem to take a physical form that best suits their target." I blushed at that, remembering exactly what drew me to Patty. Wow, now I feel kinda shallow.

Out of nowhere, a deafening roar rang out, echoing around the vast room. Luna shot to her feet, myself not far behind as she raced back the way we had come. Eventually we had re-entered the statue garden, and I found myself stunned by what I saw.

Six black, ribbon-like wings beating powerfully. Three long necks covered in black, hood-like fur - one on the top of the main body, two on either side in place of arms - ending in two small, rounded heads and a third, more defined one. It's blue scaled body was split by the black fur composing it's hood on the upper half and two purple striped running vertically down it's lower body. A pair of stubby blue legs that ended in small claws dangled beneath the beast, a long, powerful blue tail with a purple underside thrashing around behind it.

There, hovering above a statue of a stallion wielding naught but a ball, was a fully-fucking-grown Hydreigon! As in, the Pokemon! How the actual fuck is there a Pokemon here!? Luna, apparently, wasn't as shocked as I was, as she was currently barking orders at a bunch of mares and stallions wearing dark blue, light-looking armour and wielding anything from a halberd to a dagger.

"Not a single pony breaks ranks!" I heard one of them shout, this one wearing a different design of armour which indicated higher rank. "I want this thing gone, you here me!?"

The Hydreigon reared it's main head back, a purple and black energy forming in it's gaping maw.

"Shit." I muttered, charging forward as it picked it's target and fired. I surprised myself with the speed at which I moved, tackling the stallion to the ground mere moments before the Dark Pulse attack hit, turning the grass into a grayscale version of itself with the epicentre a burnt patch. Looking up, I saw the Dark Dragon fire trio of beams - fiery red, lightning yellow and icy blue - at the statue of the stallion holding the ball. The stone structure shattered from the power of the attack, but the ball itself fell to the ground and rolled towards me. As it did, the stone seemed to flake off of it's surface, revealing a white sphere with a red band, a small button on the band.

"Is that..." I said, reaching out and grasping the ball. A flash of light came from my leg, and I saw that the anklet Patty had given me had found it's way onto my right leg.

A second roar rang out, this time not from the Hydreigon, and before we knew it the beast was tackled into the ground by a sky blue blur, kicking up a cloud of dust. I stuffed the ball into my bag as quickly as I could. The blur hopped backwards out of the cloud, revealing itself to be a bulky, quadruped dragon with sky-blue scales and red wings, it's segmented underbelly being a metallic grey. Red accents framed it's sharp eyes just behind it's six fins, three on each cheek.

"No fucking way!" I shouted, gaining the blue dragon's attention. "A motherfucking Salamence! That's just too cool!"

The Salamence seemed to grin at my words before being hit with a ball of orange energy, knocking it back a few feet. Luckily, it's Flying type halved the damage taken from the Focus Blast. And I just realised that I sound like a huge nerd. Oh well, fucking Salamence! Without thinking about it, I pointed at the slowly rising Hydreigon and shouted "Dragon Pulse!". A purple and blue beam flew from Salamence's mouth, smacking Hydreigon directly in the face. Without giving it any time to recover, I shouted "Flamethrower!", resulting in a stream of flame being spat at the Dark Dragon, engulfing it. I decided to end it then, giving one final command. "Roar!" I bellowed, and a second later a great, guttural roar reverberated around the area, instilling fear in all hostiles who heard it. The Hydreigon flew off towards a mountain range in the distance, scales still smoking.

Salamence landed with a thud, bellowing in victory before turning to face me. Luna had moved silently to my side, horn glowing and wings spread wide. Looking behind me, I noticed the guards in battle-ready stances and sighed. I then motioned for them to lower their weapons before turning and striding confidently towards the dragon, arm outstretched and palm splayed. Salamence ducked it's head, pressing it's snout against my hand with closed eyes.

"Thank you." I said, petting the powerful beast's snout. Salamence seemed to smile before using it's long neck to flip me onto it's back, crimson wings spreading wide as it prepared to take flight. Luna called out, but was too slow to stop us as Salamence carried me in the opposite direction to the one the Hydreigon had fled in.

The wind whipped through my hair as Salamence soared through the skies, and I couldn't help but laugh at the sensation. I was riding a Salamence! One of my childhood dreams has come true! Salamence seemed to pick up on my joy, because it started doing tricks! I held on to it's thick neck as it began doing barrel rolls, aileron rolls and even  loop-the-loops. It then began climbing higher and higher until we were miles above what I assume to be Canterlot Mountain, due to the castle built on it's side, before going into a corkscrew dive, aimed at the peak of the mountain. My laughter grew and grew as I clamped down with my legs, throwing my arms into the air as I screamed in pure joy. Salamence levelled out before gliding into a cave opening, plunging us into darkness as it landed. It opened it's mouth, a flame dancing on it's tongue as it moved to what appeared to be a small pile of wood. It spat the flames at the wood, filling the cavern with light as the kindling caught. It then plodded it's way further into the cavern, curling it's massive body around a small pile of straw holding... is that an egg! I crept forward, trying to get a better look but not wanting to push any boundaries.

The egg seemed to be a sky blue, matching it's mother's scales, with a pale yellow oval on the front and a silver-grey pattern running from the top to about halfway down the back. Salamence's beefy tail shifted slightly, curling lovingly around the egg as she lifted it up and moved it towards me.

"Are..." I began, too shocked to form a full sentence. "Are you giving me your egg?" Salamence just nodded before giving off a weak-sounding groan. I took the egg into my arms as she started coughing violently, small splatters of blood hitting the floor. I felt my eyes bug out at this.

"You're dying..." I stated, dumbfounded. This powerful creature had just saved Canterlot in a clearly horribly poor condition, and was now entrusting me with the care of her only child! I took a deep breath before walking over and sitting beside her neck, earning a confused grunt. "I'm not going to leave you here to die alone." I said simple, crossing my legs and placing the egg in the folds. Salamence nuzzled me thankfully before laying down completely. We sat in silence for a time, the crackling fire the only sound as I absently stroked Salamence's neck. I pulled out the ball from the statue, examining it in the fire's light. I wonder why the ponies try to fight off the Pokemon when they'd clearly found the way to capture them. Or maybe the pony in the statue kept it to himself? At any rate, this was clearly a Premier Ball, one of the most hated variants of the Pokeball - it was literally just a different colour. All it provided in the games was an extra ball for free. But maybe I could find someone that could reverse-engineer some copies for me, maybe even the upgraded versions!

Delicate wing beats caught my attention, if only because they disturbed the fire. I turned to see Princess Luna and another, taller pony with white fur and a tri-coloured pastel mane and tail, her horn longer and wings larger than Luna's. This one wore a white sundress with gold trims, as well as a golden crown situated just behind her horn.

"Princess." I said, turning back to the Salamence. Her breath had become ragged, but she seemed to calm slightly when I started stroking her again. I heard Luna and the other mare move closer, clearly wary of the dying dragoness. "You can calm down, you know." I said without looking at them. "She's dying, no threat. And she saved your home. I'd say that deserves a thank you." Luna crouched down beside me, placing her hand gently on Salamence's snout. Salamence grunted in response, but did nothing else.

"Thank you, great dragon." Luna whispered as her horn glowed. The same glow surrounded Salamence's chest, calming her ragged breathing even more. "We are truly grateful for your aide. Sleep now."

And with that, Salamence sighed blissfully, giving it's final breath. A small wisp of red smoke blew out of her mouth, floating up my nose. It burned slightly, but it wasn't unpleasant at all. I wiped the tears from my eyes and hugged the orphaned egg close to my chest. The white mare placed her hand on my shoulder, smiling gently.

"I'm aware that this isn't the greatest way to meet," she said, helping my up. "But I am Princess Celestia, Luna's older sister."

"Zinnia." I sniffed.

"I understand that you commanded this dragon when it defended our castle." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, I did."

"Well our thanks are with you, too."

I nodded, not wanting to talk anymore. I then walked to the mouth of the cave and simply stared at the horizon. Why was I so sad about the death of something I barely knew? Was it because she saved my life, or because she entrusted her child to me? Or was it because of the sense of being complete that I got when I rode on her back. Either way, I had been given a great responsibility, and I would be sure to fulfil it as best I could. Luna moved to my left side, and Celestia mirrored her on my right.

"What will you do with the egg, Zinnia?" Celestia asked, eyeing the unborn dragon in my arms. My grip tightened slightly.

"I'll hatch it." I replied, eyes narrowing in determination. "And I'll raise the drake as though he were my own."

"How do you know it will be a boy?" Luna added.

"Huh?"

"You said you would raise the drake." the midnight mare stated. "As though he were your own child."

"Did I? I guess I just knew."

"And what about accommodation?" Celestia asked.

I looked behind me. The Salamence was still laying there.

"I'll stay here." I said. "I'll give Salamence a proper funeral, and then I'll move in here."

"Surely you jest!" Luna cried. "You cannot live in this cave!"

"Why not? It's big enough, all I'd need to do is put a door or something over the opening."

"I think my sister is worried about you getting up and down the mountain." Celestia chimed, unfurling her wings. "We flew up, and there was no visible trail."

"I think there was a tunnel back there, looked promising. It might lead to the base of the mountain - maybe even into Canterlot itself."

"Perhaps, yes." Celestia handed me a roll of parchments, a quill and a pot of ink before turning to leave. "We will leave you to rest, Zinnia. A team of guards will arrive tomorrow to assist in any way you need. With them will be a personnel assistant that will remain to help you adapt to Equestria, and will also act as a messenger between us should you need it."

"Thank you."

"Good night to you, Zinnia." Luna said, spreading her wings with her sister. "We hope to see you soon."

With that, the diarchs flew off, leaving me to my cave. I turned, walking back in and setting the egg next to the fire. I then moved over to Salamence's body, slowly moving it to the mouth of the cave. I know that it's disrespectful, but I wanted to make it things at least a little easier for tomorrow. I then grabbed the egg and lay down on the straw, surprised at how comfortable it was. Consciousness fading away, I drifted off to sleep.

Flames of Beginning

Chapter 2

I woke the next morning to the sound of voices, with a burning sensation in my stomach. It wasn't unpleasant, far from it actually, just new. Sitting up, I looked to the mouth of my cave and found a small platoon of golden-armoured ponies attempting to lift Salamence's body onto a golden chariot. I shot up, making sure the egg was safe before storming over to the guards.

"What do you think you're doing!?" I demanded, arms crossed over my chest. The stallion I had stopped sputtered for a moment, cheeks flaring red, before snapping into a salute.

"Ma'am! We were ordered to assist in the disposal of this dragon's corpse, Ma'am!" he barked. The other guards also snapped to attention upon seeing us.

"Disposal?" I hissed, seething with anger. "DISPOSAL!? This dragon saved your asses and deserves a proper funeral, not disposal!"

"O-our apologies, Ma'am!" a mare said, sweating slightly. "W-we should have awaited y-your orders!"

"Damn right you should have. Now, I want that dragon gently placed on to the chariot."

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!"

With that, the guards returned to moving Salamence's body onto the chariot, but were much more careful this time. As they did so, a mare with deep, forest green fur and a maroon mane walked over to me. She wore a simple white dress shirt with a black trench coat and black slacks. Forest green wings rested on her back, fed through small holes in the coat. She pulled a hot-pink suitcase behind her, and her golden-yellow eyes seemed to be constantly roaming around the cave before settling on me.

"Hi." she said. "My name's Whiplash. Princess Celestia sent me."

"Of course, the personal assistant." I replied, smacking my palm into my forehead. "I'm Zinnia. Make yourself at home, Whiplash. I know it's not much, but I plan to renovate at some point."

Whiplash nodded and moved to the back of the cave, right next to the opening of the passage.

"Where does this go?" she asked, peering in.

"Not sure, I haven't had a chance to look yet." I walked up next to her, leaning in to the passage to get a better look. It was pretty dark, but I'm sure I can get some torches or something from the guards. "Can you see if the guards can spare some lights?"

"Sure." Whiplash hurried off, leaving me to the passage. A breeze seemed to be blowing through - not sure how I missed that - which means that it opens up again somewhere. A tap on my shoulder told me Whiplash was back, and a second later a green light illuminated the passage. I turned around to see a horned guard with white fur and a black mane, his blood red eyes boring deep into mine.

"Private Flare at your service, Ma'am." the stallion said, saluting.

"Thank you, Private." I said, turning and leading the way down the passage. "Whiplash, you're in charge while I'm gone!" I called.

"Okay! I'll make sure they stay in line!"

I chuckled at that. She seemed eager to please, and she was pretty cute too. I could get used to having her around. For now, though, I focused on the path ahead of us. Flare walked along behind me, his horn glowing the whole time.

"So Flare," I started, stepping over a rock. "How long have you been a guard?"

"Three months tomorrow, Ma'am." the stallion replied, ducking under an outcropping I hadn't noticed. It was then that I noticed he was a good head taller than me.

"Call me Zinnia."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"What did I just say? Chill out a little, Flare."

Flare sighed. "Sorry, force of habit."

"No problem." I glanced at his glowing horn. "How are you doing that?"

"What?"

"The thing with your horn."

"You mean my magic?"

And the penny drops.

"Magic?" I asked as we came out into a large hangar-like room with three more tunnels off to the side. "You mean like that hocus-pocus junk?"

"Hocus Pocus was a great unicorn and I would appreciate if you did not refer to his work as junk."

"Sorry, didn't even know that was a name. Should've guessed, though. But what do you mean magic?"

Flare sighed again before clearing his throat. "Magic is the fundamental energy of all Equus. Certain species, such as Unicorns and Alicorns, can tap into this energy and use it to shape the world - within certain parameters, of course."

"So you're a... what? Unicorn?" I asked, leaning over the edge of the cavern. This seemed to be well hidden from the naked eye, if the rocks below said anything. The sun's rays shone directly through the mouth of the hanger, telling me that it faced East as it was still early.

"Yes. The Princesses are both Alicorns, and are the only ones besides their niece in the known world. They have a much greater magical potential than any common Unicorn, resulting in their ability to move the sun and moon across the skies."

"Wait, what? Doesn't the planet orbit the sun here?"

Flare looked at me as though I was crazy. Maybe I still was, but I'm just quoting what I was taught in school.

"Never mind." I said, heading to the three new passages. "How much do you bet one of these leads toward Canterlot?" Flare's horn pulsed, a green wave of energy travelling down each passage. After a moment, he fired a few balls of light around the room before the glow on his horn cut off.

"The middle passage leads further down the mountain, with a few empty caverns along the way and an opening into a park in the city." he reported, gesturing to the passage in question.  He turned to the other two as he listed off their properties. "The one on the left leads to a series of empty caverns that are roughly the size of the average bedroom. The right leads to another five hanger-like chambers, with smaller rooms in between. They are surprisingly large considering the size of the mountain, and the distance to Canterlot is surprisingly small."

"So you're a radar as well as a flashlight?" I joked, earning a small chuckle from Flare. "That was surprisingly easy, I must admit. Should we check out the other hangers or head back?"

Flare's answer was cut off as another guard poked her head out of the first passage.

"The dragon is ready for transport, Ma'am. We await your orders." the mare reported.

"Guess that means we're going back then, eh?" I said, nudging Flare. Flare nodded, smiling down at me and causing a small blush to rise on my cheeks. We made our was back the way we came, my head spinning. Why are there so many rooms here? And why are they all connected? It's almost like it used to be some kind of military base, with all the hangers, but if that was true then why didn't the Princesses say anything? Unless it wasn't theirs. Maybe the Salamence's family had been staying here longer than I thought, and they just dug out more rooms when they were kids.

When we came back into the original room, I almost flipped. One of those stupid guards was about to throw the egg off the cliff! What the actual *fuck!!!***

"HEY!" I shouted, causing the guard - and everyone else - to jump. "What. The fuck. Do you think. You're. Doing."

"Uh..." the guard trembled in fear. Huh, guess they need some better training. "G-getting rid of-"

"Give. Me. The egg." I growled. "He is still alive." The guard shuffled over to me, head down and arms out, presenting the egg. I took it gently, giving it a quick cuddle before passing it to Whiplash - no idea how long she had been stood there - then turned back to the guard. Without thinking, I reared back and punched the fucker full-force in the face, sending him stumbling backwards into the cavern wall. I stalked over to him, hands curled into claws, and grabbed him by the throat, lifting and pinning him to the wall. "Don't touch my baby."

"Y-yes, Ma'am! I'm sorry, Ma'am!" he stammered, blood trickling from his now-misshapen nose. Did I break it? Oh well, fucker deserved it.

I dropped the guard before taking the egg back from Whiplash and walking over to the chariot holding Salamence's body. The guards backed away, forming two lines on either side of me as some of the winged ones attached themselves to harnesses at the front. I smirked, stepping into the chariot with Whiplash just behind me. Three winged guards that weren't already attached to the chariot grabbed some of the horned ones, another two grabbing two of the ones without wings or a horn. They followed behind us as the chariot took off. I directed it towards the first hanger that Flare and I had found. As we flew, Whiplash turned to me, a look of worry on her face.

"Zinnia?" she asked, flinching slightly when I turned to look at her. "What happened back there?"

"What do you mean? The guard was about to throw my egg over the cliff, so I told him off. Simple as that."

"You did more than that!" the Pegasus cried. I raised a brow at her, silently asking for an explanation. "Zinnia, you didn't just shout at him. You roared."

I blinked. "What?" I asked, blinking again.

"Not just that, either."

"There was more?"

"Yeah, your hands... they glowed when you grabbed him, Zinnia. A sort of purple-blue colour, in the shape of a claw."

I sat back, contemplating this. What did it mean, being able to do these things? There are way too many weird things going on now. First I'm sent to another world where I find out Pokemon - or at least two families of Pokemon - existed. Then one of the Pokemon dies, giving me her egg to take care off. Then I apparently get powers!? Is that what this burning in my stomach is? And I've been remembering things differently, too. Whiplash shook me slightly, pointing to the hanger we were landing in. I thanked her and got up, getting ready to hop out when we landed.

As soon as we touched down, I was out of the chariot and moving to a table-like slab of rock sticking out of the wall. I took off my cloak and wrapped the egg up in it, placing both on the table before walking back to the group. The guards without wings or a horn were attempting to lift Salamence's body out, obviously struggling, and I sighed. I moved them out of the way and lifted the dragon easily, moving her into the centre of the room. After placing her down in a dignified position - neck curled around herself and wings folded on her back, so that she looked to just be sleeping - I stepping back. I looked to the guards that had followed and saw them staring at me slack-jawed. This time, though, I knew what I had done. I mean, it's kind of hard not to notice when you're carrying a dragon that weighs over two hundred pounds!

"You never cease to amaze, do you?" Whiplash asked, shaking out of her stupor. She fluttered her wings, flying to my side and staring at Salamence's corpse. "So... what're we doing here?"

I took a deep breath before answering. "We're gonna burn her." Whiplash stared at me for a second, obviously looking for some sign that I was joking. "That's how Dragons show respect to their dead, by returning them to the flames of life."

"O-okay, I'll have the Unicorns prepare and fire spells they know." the mare replied, turning to go. I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"No, it has to be dragon fire." I said, placing my free hand on my stomach.

"Where are we going to get dragon fire?"

"Right here."

Without waiting for her to ask the inevitable 'What?', I took a deep breath, focussing on the burning in my belly. The flames seemed to churn in response, acknowledging me as their master. A portion seemed to leap up my throat, tickling at the back of my mouth. Opening my mouth, I expected a stream of flames to throw themselves out, but instead all I got was a small ember...

Wait...

Oh my God, how did I not put this together sooner! I sat down, watching as the Ember caught on Salamence's scales and spread, slowly engulfing her. The red mist that came as Salamence's last breath the night before, that clearly wasn't a normal thing. It must have been her final gift - the power to protect the egg! Wow, that... shouldn't be possible, if going by the rules of the games, but Japan was always weird. If they can get away with the Mystery Dungeon games - people turning into Pokemon? Ludicrous. - then I guess I can let this slide. Either way, I can apparently use Pokemon moves now. I wonder what my 'move set' is?

"Uh... Ma'am?" I turned, seeing Flare crouched beside me with a concerned frown on his face. "Wouldn't you like to say a few words?"

"Yeah." I sniffed, getting to my feet. I wiped off my eyes before turning to Salamence's burning body. "From the flames of beginning you came, and to the flames you return. May your soul rest easy in the afterlife with the knowledge that your child is in good hands."

When the flames died down, all that was left was a pile of black ash. Flare handed me a small urn, and the next few minutes were spent gathering the ashes into the urn, which was painted sky blue with crimson accents, perfectly matching Salamence's scales. Fresh tears flowed as the guards piled on to their chariot, Flare waiting until last. He hesitated, throwing one last glance my way as Whiplash pulled me into a hug before climbing in with the other guards. The chariot pulled away, circling out of sight as they descended the mountain. Whiplash and I just walked to the passage that lead to the first cavern in order to gather her belongings. I helped her settle in to one of the bedroom-sized caverns, which was actually the size of a royal bedroom and surprisingly had windows - well, holes that we could put windows into at a later date. I went back and collected my egg before claiming a room for myself, just sitting in the centre of the empty cave for a while.

Whiplash peered around the doorway after a time, catching me playing with an Ember that danced around my fingers. I couldn't seem to recreate the claw, and I didn't want to try the strength or the roar just yet. She told me that a delivery had arrived. When I asked what the delivery was, she just smiled and said "Come and see!" before running off. I sighed before running after her, egg still in my arms. I need a carrier or something for this little guy.

In what I'm gonna call the primary hanger, a pony was unloading a bunch of boxes from a chariot styled like a delivery truck. Whiplash was signing something, so I decided to have a look through the boxes. Turns out the princesses had sent us some basic living essentials - furniture, beds, kitchen appliances, stuff like that. I'd have to remember to thank them later. Another box was added to the pile, and I saw that this one was full of baby supplies. I tore it open and sighed in relief at the sight of a baby carrier, which I quickly strapped on and placed the egg in. I lifted the baby supply box and carried it back into my room, placing it into the corner. The next few hours were spent moving the boxes and appliances into the right rooms and putting together the furniture. By the end of it, both Whiplash and I had four-poster beds in our rooms along with vanities and large wardrobes. I also had a cot at the foot of my bed, and a chest of childcare supplies that didn't need to be stored in the kitchen against one wall. By the time we had finished the sun had set, so we said our goodnights and went to bed.

{3rd Person POV}

Princess Luna flew through the distorted image of Equestria that was the Dream Realm. Around her, clouds representing the dreams of her subjects floated above where their owners slept in the physical plain. Most were the generic white, puffy cloud, meaning that the pony was having a pleasant dream. Every now and then, Luna would spot a storm cloud that showed that a pony was having a nightmare. The intensity of the storm from the cloud showed how bad the nightmare was, and Luna thanked her luck that any she saw on her way were minor problems, the result of scary movies and stories.

As she began ascending the spectral version of Canterlot Mountain, Luna was scared out of her wits when a dream bolt - the lightning produced by nightmare clouds - seared past a mere inch from her face. Looking to the source, Luna let out a gasp as she saw a full-force tornado of nightmare energy swirling the peak of the mountain. Luna took a deep breath before charging at the cloud, dodging dream bolts left and right as she went. To the untrained eye, her desperation may have merely looked like concern for the being suffering such a nightmare. The truth, however, was that the midnight mare was terrified. She hadn't seen nightmares that powerful since when Sombra still ruled the Crystal Empire, when the entire populace of the shining city would suffer from the trauma caused by the dark unicorn's reign.

Nothing, however, could have prepared the Princess for what she saw within the cloud.

Interlude 1: Nightmares

{3rd Person POV}

Luna found herself in a padded cell, a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling and a plain, metal-framed bed pushed against the wall. Opposite to the bed was a large metal door, clearly used to keep a pony from leaving the room. This should not be a problem. Luna thought, walking directly towards the door...

Before smacking her muzzle into the cold, hard metal.

Stumbling back, Luna glared at the door before flaring her magic. The azure glow surrounded the door, and Luna smirked as she attempted to rip the offending barrier off of it's hinges. The smirk fell from her lips when her magic flickered out. Luna kicked the door in frustration, causing it to swing open.

"Oh, come on!" Luna cried, storming into the dark corridors. All of the lights along the ceiling were dark, some destroyed. A single functioning light flickered erratically at the end of the corridor, casting shadows everywhere. Luna moved towards the light, grimacing at the surroundings. The whole building was in a state of disarray - trolleys upturned, medical supplies strewn across the floor. Passing by what she assumed to be the common room, Luna noticed the torn couches and smashed television. Art supplies were scattered over the ground, with some of the sharper objects embedded into the walls and floors.

"What is going on here?" Luna asked herself, walking around a corner. The princess froze, eyes wide as she saw the large claw marks that raked through the walls. Emerald-green scales were scattered throughout the new corridor, with more claw marks all over the walls and floor. More of the metallic doors had been smashed inwards, some having an arm or a leg trapped between the warped metal and the frame. Screams of agony reached Luna's ears from those trapped, causing her to press her hands hard against her skull in an attempt to block them out. She knew they weren't real, but that didn't make it any easier to listen to.

Just as the princess of the night made to move down the hall, a familiar - yet drastically different, to the princess's eyes - face rounded a corner at the other end of the corridor. Zinnia sprinted forwards, her long, unkempt hair flowing behind her and her arms strapped to her body by the straitjacket she wore. Luna's eyes were drawn towards what followed her, however. A massive, serpentine dragon with emerald-green scales and four antennae-like protrusions a the back of it's narrowing head. Glowing yellow markings ran the length of it's segmented body, the segments separated by a total of four bands - the first of which held the beast's thin, clawed arms and the rest holding four red-banded fins each.

Luna stood frozen once more, barely registering Zinnia as she sprinted past. The dragon paused, rearing as far back as it could in the cramped room. The shadows cast by the behemoth seemed to morph, condensing into a smaller, more humanoid shape. From the shadows rose a figure in a pitch-black cloak with a blood red collar of jagged teeth and a stark white, flowing hood. The single blue eye stood out from the creature's body, the single comforting colour causing the rest of the nightmare to seem that much scarier. Luna's breathing became ragged as she stared down the creature that was all too familiar to her. The thing that fed her jealousy until it consumed her, transforming her into the horror that was Nightmare Moon. The one true fear that the princess still held.

"Sh-Sh-Shadowed One..." Luna stuttered, the word itself causing bile to rise in her throat.

"Ah, my dear little Luna." The shadow spoke, though there was no visible sign of a mouth of any kind. "I see you no longer bear my gift."

"T'was no gift, monster!" the princess screeched, anger overpowering her fear if only for a moment.

"Oh, you were always so ungrateful. My greatest failure." The white wisp that was it's head turned to look at the emerald dragon towering over the two of them. "If you would?"

At those words, the dragon lunged, and Luna noticed the cyan, slit-pupiled eyes that signified the Shadowed One's influence over a creature's mind. As the beast's jaws opened in preparation to crunch down on her, Luna felt herself being pushed to the ground. She looked back the see Zinnia, stood panting and missing an arm. The woman's blood flowed from the wound, pooling on the floor around her feet. A white sleeve hung from the beast's teeth as it pulled back, and Zinnia's remaining arm came free from the straitjacket's hold.

"Princess Luna, run!" Zinnia cried, grabbing the princess's arm and throwing her back, out of the path of the dragon's next lunge. Time seemed to slow as it's jaws closed around Zinnia, swallowing her whole. The world seemed to shudder with the death of the dreamer, and Luna found herself forcibly ejected not just from the dream, but from the Dream Realm entirely.

Luna woke with a start, sweat beading on her forehead. Her breathing was ragged, her wings flapping wildly. When she managed to get herself under control, Luna could only say one thing. And when she said it, her voice shattered every piece of glass in her tower.

"CELESTIAAAAAA!!!!! "

A Delta Edda

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Ormageddon Unleashed

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Ice Giant, Indeed!

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Shop 'Till Your Boss Drops

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On the Wings of Lightning

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The Darkness Rises Again

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Interlude 2: Grabbing Trees

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Eventful Events, Summon The Light!

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My Sister, the Grandmother

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A New Pair of Trainers

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We Saved the Crystal Gems!

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Enter the Overlady

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Big Slabs of Meat

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SS Delta Overlady

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Delta Fury, Red Guardian

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And The World Shall Turn To Ash...

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Interlude 3: The Seed

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A Sticky Situation!

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Peace Among Them!

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Dragon Fight, And A Stampede

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Opening Up

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Gods, a Baby, And Other Stuff

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A Dragon's Nightmare

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Lingering Guilt

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Welcome to the Madhouse!

Prologue

It's been three years since my brother disappeared. Three fuckin' years of emotional torment, eventually leading to a breakdown that landed me in the local mental asylum, wasting away my days in a padded cell with my arms pinned to my sides. The only human contact I get is from the doctors and the other patients, and even that was only after I had proven to be 'stable' enough. Fuck you and your stability! My brother disappeared at a convention - most likely taken into a trafficking ring or something - and you want me to be stable! Insensitive pricks. I guess I can play along long enough to get out of here, though.

"Patient number 2615525, I am coming in. Please move to your bed."

*sigh*, great. I've got him again, Doctor Tightass. Guess Helen isn't in today, which makes it Wednesday. Helen looks after her sick grandmother on Wednesdays, and comes here every other day. She's really a sweet woman, and she treats me as though I was her own daughter, which is nice.

"Patient number 2615525, have you done as instructed?" Doctor Asshole asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." I grumbled, shuffling over to the bed and throwing myself down on my back. Aside from the straitjacket, they let you wear what you want, which for me is a pair of black hot pants. "I'm on the bed. Better not have your way with me."

"Very funny, patient number 2615525." he said, opening the door and walking in, closing it behind him. He took a seat on the only other piece of furniture in my room, a small wooden stool with no back. I hate the thing, not comfy at all. At least they ask you what mattress you'd like. "I am merely here to inform you of an outing we are conducting, to the local convention centre. They are holding a video game convention on Saturday, so arts and crafts tomorrow will be dedicated to making any costumes you would like."

I sat up, glaring daggers at the fucker. "How dare you." I growled, resisting the urge to charge at him. An angry tone is the most I can get away with these days without ruining all of my hard work. "You ask me if I want to go to the place where my brother disappeared?! Is this some kind of test!? Or just some sick joke!?"

He just sat there, jotting down notes on a small pad of paper. "No joke, I assure you. Just a day out of the asylum for the more behaved patients. Would you like to go?"

I growled one more time before sighing and falling back onto the bed again. "Sure, John." I said, defeated. "I'll go. Can I get a haircut first though? I feel like I haven't had it cut since I got put in here."

"You haven't. I'll arrange for Patricia to come by later, 2615525. Might I recommend this character for your costume?" He held out a small picture.

"Zinnia, huh? Why her?" I asked. I'd liked Zinnia a lot before coming here, and I suspected that someone put that on my file, which is why John knew about her.

"Well, you share quite a few similarities with this character physically already. All you would need is the hair style and the outfit." he explained. Can't say he's wrong. With the raven black hair and amber eyes, my face is pretty much a perfect mirror of Zinnia - with the right haircut, of course. Even our fashion choices were similar, hot pants and a tee-shirt, though I was never sold on the cloak. What was creepy, though, was that when I was little my parents got me a hamster that I names Aster. It was a rescue animal, used to test shampoo before it was rescued, so the chemicals had changed it's fur colour. To pink.

"Yeah, alright." I said. John pulled the picture back, moving back to the door.

"I'll have Patricia take off your straitjacket, too." He said, pulling the door open. "You've been deemed safe enough for free roaming without it. Congratulations, 2615525."

"My name's Zoey, asswipe!"

A few hours later, I was sat watching some show about ponies in the commons room while Patty cut my hair. I liked some of the songs they sang, but the show itself was horrible. But it was Steven's turn to choose what we watch, so I didn't say anything. Poor guy thought his mom and sisters were some kind of crystal aliens...

"So, you're going to the con?" Patty asked. Another of the nice ones, Patty, she was a pretty tall phillipino woman with pink hair down to her shoulders and huge jugs. I'm not kidding, I asked her what size she was once, and do you know what she told me? Thirty eight double G. Thirty. Eight. Double. Fucking. G. Me gusta...

What? I'm bi and I have a huge sex drive, get over it.

I shook myself slightly, causing any loose hair to fly off. "Yeah, thought it'd be nice to get out for once, ya know?"

"I still don't know why you're still in here, girl." Patty said. "As far as I'm concerned, you're fine. No maniacal laughing fits, no rocking back and forth with distant eyes, no talking to a bag of flour wearing a party hat."

"Can we not talk about the flour, please?" I asked, wincing. That was embarrassing, especially since it was only because I couldn't see my family on my birthday.

"Sorry, Hun. Forgot."

"It's fine, Patty. No worries."

We sat in silence for a minute before Patty handed me a red belt with a bag fastened to the back. "For the costume." she said, brushing off my shoulders. "Made it myself for my niece, but she didn't want it. Then I noticed that this Zinnia character has a red belt and brought it in for you."

"Thanks, Patty." I said, tears forming.

"No prob, Hun." she said. She then leaned forwards, pressing her breasts against my back and (presumably) unintentionally sending my heart into overdrive. "Listen," she whispered, her minty breath washing over my frozen face. "They're making you have a staff member to help tomorrow, but they let you choose. Just ask for me. I'm good with clothes."

"But isn't tomorrow your day off?" I asked, shifting my shoulder. I felt her breast move too, and it was awesome.

"Yeah, but it's for you." she replied. She then stood back up and grabbed her mirrors, handing me one. "Whadd'ya think?"

Pushing back the urge to shudder, I examined the excellent job Patty had done. "It's perfect, Patty. Looks just like her."

Patty started putting her things away as I stood up and brushed myself off.

"Darn it!" Patty said. When I turned to see what was up, I got a view of Heaven! And it was black and lacy.

"Say, Patty..." I began, trailing off as Patty turned her body, still bent down, and gave me the perfect valley view.

"Yeah, Zoey?" she asked, snapping me out of my trance. "What's up?"

Now or never.

"Would you mind... uh... coming to my room later? Like... after dark?"

Patty giggled, causing her chest to jiggle slightly. "Sure, Hun." she said, standing up and putting a hand on her hip. "I'll even come... alone." She slipped into a sultry tone on the last word, sending me over the dam.

"'KaythanksseeyoulaterPattybye!"

And with that, I ran back to my room, closed the door and collapsed onto the bed before thrusting my hands into my shorts.

So Patty actually did come by last night. And she came alone. And she had put my tape on a sleep loop.

I'm gonna say one thing about what happened next - Patty is good.

Anyway, now we're in the commons room again, only this time there's a bunch of sewing equipment and fabric dyes all over the tables. Patty was helping me dye the patterns onto the shirt when Lewis and Mikey got into a fight, Lewis actually managing to draw blood when he stabbed Mikey in the shoulder with a pair of scissors. Lewis was taken to the 'time-out room', which is basically solitary confinement, and Mikey was taken down to the infirmary. Both were taken off the trip.

I was beginning work on the shorts when Steven came over.

"Say, Zoey, do you have any spare pink cloth?" he asked. I reached under the desk I was sat at and handed him my entire roll. I didn't need it anyway, since my character didn't have any pink in her clothes. I watched him as he walked back to his area and saw that he was making a little plush lion, entirely pink. I wondered why for a moment before I looked to the side to see he had made a cardboard sword and shield set, both following a rose theme in design. Next to them was a folded set of clothes. I guess he finished early and just started making a little teddy. Cute.

"Zoey, you're shirt's ready!" Patty called, taking the shirt off of the line we had set up to let it dry on. Patty had worn her own clothes to work today, and they let her off because it was supposed to be her day off and this was technically charity work. Today she wore a purple low-cut crop top that showed off her cleavage, as well as a pair of purple bike shorts. She had a black trench coat that covered her completely when she came in, but she was wearing it open, so I don't know why she bothered with it. I know she was teasing me after last night, and fucks sake it was working!

"Thanks Patty, I'm just starting the shorts now." I replied, turning back to the sewing machine. Patty leaned directly over me, breasts against the back of my head and a smirk on her face.

"You do realise you're wearing a pair of shorts that you could use. You only need the cloak." she said.

"Oh yeah," I leaned back, using her chest as a pillow. "Have we got any brown fabric?"

"No, but I already have the cloak sorted." the bombshell produced a perfect replica of the cloak from seemingly nowhere, placing it on my chest (and using it as a cover to fondle me a little).

"How?"

"Remember that uncle I had who was a hermit?"

"Oh yeah."

I did remember the uncle. In fact, he was a patient here for about a year until he died of a heart attack. Poor guy, all he wanted was to live and die in Nature's embrace, and instead he dies in this place.

"Come on, Hun." Patty said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Let's go back to you're room and see how you look!"

"Alright." I gathered up the costume and cleaned up while Patty went and told John, who was in charge of the arts and crafts session today, where we were going. I gave Steven a few of the other fabrics I had left, receiving a plush Whismur in return. Guy works fast! After that, Patty lead the way back to my room and closed the door behind us.

Without hesitation I stripped down to my panties, exposing my ample D-cup breasts to the woman before me. I took my time putting the clothes back on, too, enjoying the way her legs pressed together. The shorts went on first, because for some reason I had felt the need to take them off in the first place. The way the fabric tingled on my skin was new, but it was wonderful new. Next came the boots which, while not as sexual, did give me an excuse to be topless with Patty for just a little longer. Then the shirt came on, it's tight fabric exactly what I wanted. I fastened Patty's belt-bag around my waist before putting on the cloak with a flourish and striking a pose. Patty applauded me, biting her lower lip slightly as she stood.

"Gimme a little twirl, Hun." she said. I did as instructed, stopping facing away and giving my ass a little shake - which Patty took as an invitation to give it a smack. "Nice. Sexy."

"You think so?" I asked, turning around. I looked down a myself, a spitting image of Zinnia as far as I was concerned.

"Yeah, you'd have had guys drooling over you at that convention. Literally, if you wanted." I laughed at that, up until I registered what she had said.

"What do you mean, 'would have had'?" I asked. Patty smirked at me and handed me a small, spiralling anklet of a blue dragon with a small stone imbedded in the head.

"Enjoy your trip, Hun. I'll see you soon."

With that, the world went to Hell. The gem in the anklet flashed, and before I knew what was happening, a giant green dragon head burst through the wall and swallowed me whole.